Of the numerous public policy debates currently taking place throughout the United States, perhaps no issue receives more attention than the persistence of “chronically” low-performing public schools. As of 2009, approximately 5,000 schools—5% of the nation’s total—qualified as chronically low performing (Duncan, 2009d). Certainly, these statistics merit the attention of policy scholars, yet the political contestation of interests attempting to influence how the federal government should address such issues has reached a new fevered crescendo. Given the increased politicization of the federal government’s role in education and the growing number of interests attempting to influence the debates concerning school reform, education policy scholars have recognized the need to extend the field of policy studies by using analytical frameworks that consider both the discourse and performative dimensions of deliberative policy making. Therefore, this study addresses this particular need by employing a critical interpretive policy analysis that illustrates how both dominant discourses and the deliberative performances of the federal government shaped the policy vocabularies embedded within the Title I School Improvement Grant program of 2009 as the commonsense solutions for the nation’s chronically low-performing schools. In addition, this study provides a historical analysis, illustrating how the omnipresent threat of an economic crisis has been a primary influence in the politics of federal governance since the global economic collapse of the 1970s. This study demonstrates how over the course of the last four decades the United States has consistently reduced its commitment to the public sector, choosing instead to promote economic policies informed by the ideals of market-based liberalism. Subsequently, this study presents the argument that education, specifically the “chronic failure” of public schools, has emerged as a “primary emblematic issue” (Hajer, 1995) and now serves as an “effective metaphor for the nation’s economic crisis.” Thus, with such issues presented as a contextual backdrop, this study examines how the Obama/Duncan Administration operationalized dominant discourses and performative practices to establish consensual support for a turnaround reform agenda, effectively defining the policy solutions made available to those who participated in the revision of the Title I SIG program of 2009. / text

The United States has the highest incarceration rate of any country. The causes for the large number of prisoners can be traced, in part, to a politicized war on crime that resulted in harsh sentencing and high recidivism rates. Prisoner education provides the potential for slowing the revolving door of prison by helping to create engaged citizens, who are committed to bettering themselves and their communities. However, there is a paucity of support for programs such as Pell Grants, which could facilitate emancipatory education in prisons. The purpose of this work is to examine why prisoners are provided few meaningful educational opportunities while incarcerated. This study seeks to understand the genealogy of prisoner education policy through an examination of the debate surrounding the 1994 Omnibus Crime Bill and its prohibition of Pell Grants for prisoners, as well as the 2008 Second Chance Act and its reentry programs. The study analyzes the ideological underpinnings of key decision makers and how their values are often embedded in the narratives of neoliberalism. In addition, the work examines elite stakeholders’ discursive attempts, both manifest and subtle, to influence and maintain social policy through the creation of legitimizing myths, including the viewpoints that prisoners are hopelessly flawed or that they have potential only as human capital. Counter-hegemonic discourse is also described. The study methods are critical discourse analysis which looks at the ways text and talk maintain inequities in society and critical policy analysis. Utilizing transcripts from legislative debates, the study analyzes the discourses of members of Congress to expose the tropes that often lie beneath the surface of the debate over prisoner education. Their rhetoric appears to generate and maintain widespread support for legislation that is frequently deleterious to marginalized out-groups. The study should add to the literature examining the role of legitimizing myths that maintain inequities in educational access.

<p>Can a country function without a legislative framework able to inform decisionmaking processes taken at different spheres of government? To what extent would actions conducted at various&nbsp / spheres of government be efficiently coordinated and informed by appropriate channels of constitutional provisions and legislative amendments to consolidate financial and intergovernmental&nbsp / fiscal relations policy-making tools for the realization of an efficient local developmental state? Answers to the above mentioned two questions refer to normative fiscal policy principles and&nbsp / prescriptive instruments of intergovernmental fiscal transfer design, whose orientation suggests better ways of framing sound and coherent programs and interventions that strengthen&nbsp / cooperative synergy and transfer knowledge of experience gained in empirical investigations and various South African environments of higher academic learning. Growing evidence&nbsp / acknowledges South Africa as one of the young democratic countries that has been going through a period of transition over the past three years as it changes its system of public finance from&nbsp / a structure suited to the old apartheid system to one consistent with the new South African Constitutional dispensation. While the former system was highly centralized, the newconstitution makes a clear commitment to municipal governments as important providers of government services, with greater tax and spending powers. Even as local autonomy has been substantially increased,&nbsp / there remains uncertainty as to the most appropriate design of a system of intergovernmental fiscal grants to metropolitan areas and townships. This study analyses this situation and further&nbsp / develops a generic design for intergovernmental transfers and its suitability to the realities of South African municipalities on the ground within the framework of Cooperative Government. This&nbsp / study concludes that fiscal&nbsp / management, as a cross-cutting discipline, is a&nbsp / powerful instrument for government&rsquo / s revenue sources at the national, provincial and local government levels.&nbsp / Financial management should be regarded as a co-coordinating mechanism managing government&rsquo / s expenditure and catalyzing sound financial relationship for an efficient management in the&nbsp / country, thus allowing government to budget effectively for the delivery of goods and services in order to attain the constitutional mandate of a developmental state.</p>

The land-grant university and the cowboy church are two social institutions designed to engage communities. Research is abundant on the former and limited on the latter. The purpose of this study was to provide a descriptive report on cowboy churches, while identifying the potential for university-cowboy church collaborations and examining the direct implications to Cooperative Extension. Rogers' Diffusions of Innovations conceptualized this study and was employed to evaluate the acceptability of university-cowboy church collaborations. This basic qualitative study utilized a purposive snowball technique to identify key informants of the American Fellowship of Cowboy Churches (AFCC). Ten subjects participated in semi-structured, face-to-face and phone interviews. Data were analyzed for common themes and patterns within the context of each of this study's objectives. Findings described cowboy churches affiliated with the AFCC, the interpersonal and mass media communication channels used by these churches, and subject awareness of Cooperative Extension. Conclusions and implications suggest university-cowboy church collaborations are an acceptable innovation, especially in the context of Extension collaborations. There are relative advantages for such collaborations, shared compatibility through each institution's mission, and ample opportunities for trialibility. County agents should initiate contact with cowboy church pastors and collaborations should be initiated regarding in information exchange, horses, livestock shows, and youth.

Der Bericht fasst die Ergebnisse einer Bewertung der im Entwicklungsprogramm für den ländlichen Raum im Freistaat Sachsen 2007–2013 (EPLR) beschriebenen Fördermaßnahmen zur naturschutzgerechten Grünland- und Ackerbewirtschaftung zusammen. Grundsätzlich konnte für die Flächen, die naturschutzgerecht bewirtschaftet werden, ein höherer naturschutzfachlicher Wert als für die nicht geförderten Vergleichsflächen festgestellt werden. Dies zeigt sich sowohl in der Ausstattung mit wertvollen Biotop- und Lebensraumtypen als auch bei der Vielfalt der Pflanzen- und untersuchten Tierarten. Besonders viele gefährdete Arten der Roten Liste wurden auf den Flächen der Maßnahme Naturschutzgerechte Wiesennutzung mit Düngungsverzicht und erster Nutzung ab 15. Juli (G3b) nachgewiesen.

Mit dieser Arbeit sollte erforscht werden, welchen Einfluss Umsetzung und Vergesellschaftung von Grevy- bzw. Böhm-Zebras in Zoologischen Gärten auf die Produktion von Stressund Sexualhormonen haben. Dafür wurden vor, während und nach dem Umsetzungs- und Vergesellschaftungsprozess Kotproben der Zebras gesammelt,bei -20°C gelagert, mit einem Methanol-Wasser-Gemisch extrahiert und anschließend deren Gehalt an Cortisol-, Progesteron-, Östradiol- und Testosteronmetaboliten analysiert. Dabei konnte gezeigt werden, dass sowohl bei den adulten Grevy-Zebrastuten als auch bei deren Jungtieren (Zoo Leipzig) im Untersuchungszeitraum 2004 das ranghöchste und rangniedrigste Tier, 2008 nur das dominante Tier die höchsten Cortisolspiegel der Gruppe aufwiesen. Das in der Rangordnung den mittleren Platz einnehmende Zebra zeigte signifikant niedrigere Cortisolspiegel. Von den drei untersuchten Böhm-Zebras (Zoo Halle) besaß der Hengst signifikant niedrigere Cortisolwerte als die beiden Stuten, deren Cortisolspiegel sich vor der Umsetzung nicht signifikant voneinander unterschieden. Die Umsetzung der Grevy- Zebras in die Kiwara-Savanne und die Vergesellschaftungen mit Säbelantilopen, Straußen und Giraffen und auch die Umsetzung der Böhm-Zebras in ihr neues Gehege erhöhten jedoch nur bei den subdominanten Tieren den Basiswert des Cortisols signifikant. Zusätzliche Faktoren, wie z. B. sozialer Status (dominant vs. subdominant), soziale Ordnung und weitere exogene Einflüsse scheinen somit eine entscheidende Rolle bei der Stress-Verarbeitung von in Zoologischen Gärten gehaltenen Zebras einzunehmen. Die Adaptation der Zebras an ihre neue Umgebung nahm in den beiden Zoos unterschiedliche Zeitspannen in Anspruch. Bei den Grevy-Zebras war es aus tiergärtnerischen Gründen nicht möglich, diese AdaptationsZusammenfassung zeit zu definieren, da nur bis zwei Monate nach der Umsetzung eine individuelle Kotprobensammlung erfolgte und zu dieser noch bei einzelnen Tieren erhöhte Cortisolwerte messbar waren. 2008 konnten jedoch bei den adulten Stuten signifikant niedrigere Cortisolspiegel gemessen werden als 2004 im alten Gehege. Bei den drei untersuchten Steppenzebras fielen ca. vier Wochen nach der Umsetzung die Cortisolkonzentrationen deutlich ab und waren bei den beiden Stuten signifikant niedriger als im alten Gehege und als in der Zeit direkt nach der Umsetzung. Dies lässt die Schlussfolgerung zu, dass die neuen Gehege günstigere Umweltbedingungen bieten als die alten Zebra-Anlagen. Bei der Auswertung der Sexualhormone wurde deutlich, dass alle drei Grevy-Zebrastuten im nicht tragenden Zustand sehr ähnliche Sexualhormonspiegel zeigten. Nach der Umsetzung war weder für Progesteron noch für Östradiol ein charakteristischer Zyklusverlauf zu erkennen. Es ist also anzunehmen, dass hier der durch die Umsetzung und Vergesellschaftung hervorgerufene Stress und damit das Ansteigen der Cortisolproduktion einen negativen Einfluss auf die Reproduktionsfähigkeit der untersuchten Zebras hatte. Die Böhm-Zebras waren während der Umsetzung tragend. Die Narkose und die neue Umgebung hatten keinen messbaren Einfluss auf die Sexualhormone und am Ende einer physiologischen Tragezeit wurden zwei gesunde Jungtiere geboren. Bei den beiden Böhm-Zebrastuten konnten des Weiteren die Östradiol- und Progesteronexkretionsprofile über drei Jahre hinweg aufgenommen und somit die Trächtigkeitsdauer und der Hormonverlauf während der Trächtigkeit beschrieben werden. Das Hormonprofil des Östradiol gleicht weitestgehend dem bei Grevy- Zebras geschilderten Verlauf mit der maximalen Ausscheidung während des zweiten Trimesters. Die Konzentration der Progesteronmetabolite weicht jedoch deutlich von dem bei Grevy- Zebras beschriebenen Profil ab. Hier konnte ein stetiges Ansteigen der Werte ermittelt werden, wobei frühestens ab der 8. Woche a.p. Werte über 200ng/g erreicht wurden und die höchsten Konzentrationen ca. 12 bis einen Tag a.p. bzw. einen Tag post partum gemessen wurden. Die durchschnittliche Trächtigkeitsdauer betrug 343±15 Tage. Mit dieser Arbeit konnte gezeigt werden, dass mittels Hormonbestimmungen im Kot von Zebras Veränderungen im Hormonhaushalt sowohl von Stress- als auch von Sexualhormonen sehr gut quantifiziert werden können. Dadurch besteht die Möglichkeit, den Einfluss tiergärtnerisch wichtiger Verfahren, wie das Umsetzen und Vergesellschaften von Zebras oder die Kontrolle von Trächtigkeiten wissenschaftlich auszuwerten und Aussagen über die Qualität der Haltungsbedingungen zu treffen. Des Weiteren können über die individuellen Cortisolmetabolitkonzentrationen Rückschlüsse auf die soziale Stellung innerhalb der Gruppe gezogen und die Auswirkungen dieser auf den Umgang mit „Stress“ charakterisiert werden.

Thesis (M.S.) -- University of Montana, 2008. / Title from author supplied metadata. Description based on contents viewed on June 26, 2009. Includes bibliographical references.

The theoretical portion of the work dealt with the state social support, its individual allowances and the current problems related to the situation in public funds. The first main objective of the work and its partial objectives identified opinions of beneficiaries and of the broader public regarding changes in the system of the state social support introduced by Act no. 261/2007 Coll. To test the hypotheses and to collect primary data the author used qualitative research {--} the interviewing method and the questionnaire technique. Three hypotheses were determined in the degree work. The performed research confirmed hypotheses 1 and 2, whereas it did not confirm hypothesis 3. The mapping of the experience gained by administrators of the state social support system in relation to changes arising from Act no. 261/2007 Coll. was the second main objective of the work. This objective was fulfilled by complementary qualitative research which identified the experience of administrators of the state social support system with the researched changes. The interviewing method, the technique of a free dialogue was used for this purpose. One hypothesis came out of this qualitative research. The work looks back at more than a year of effect of the Act on stabilization of public budgets and at the impact of changes which this Act introduced in the system of the state social support.

The thesis handles the topic ``Financial subsidies in the agriculture after the entrance into EU{\crqq}. It focuses on the subsidies and their analysis in the company ``A{\crqq} in years 2003 {--} 2006. The theoretical part describes what the subsidies are, their types, system, alternations and the institutions which ensure them. The practical part is composed as a financial analysis. Two situations were compared. The first situation describes the company{\crq}s economy without subsidies and the second describes the company{\crq}s economy with the subsidies. In the next part the structure of costs on chosen growths was summed up.

Para expedir uma outorga de direito de uso da água, é necessário que técnicos do órgão responsável verifiquem se existe capacidade do corpo hídrico de atender a demanda solicitada (captação ou lançamento), considerando os demais usos já existentes e a hidrologia local. Em muitos casos, no Brasil e em outros países, as análises e os cálculos necessários para esta verificação ainda são feitos de forma manual, utilizando mapas em papel e planilhas de cálculo não integradas a Sistemas de Informação Geográfica. Este trabalho apresenta uma metodologia baseada na integração de SIG e modelos hidrológicos para a análise de pedidos de outorga de uso da água. A metodologia envolve 1) a utilização de SIG para pré-processamento de dados visando a aplicação de um modelo hidrológico chuva-vazão; 2) a aplicação do modelo chuva-vazão para gerar estimativas da vazão de referência adotada como disponibilidade hídrica em cada trecho de rio em que é dividida a bacia; 3) a transferência dos resultados do modelo hidrológico de volta ao SIG; e 4) a aplicação de um Sistema de Suporte a Decisão no qual cálculos simples de balanço hídrico são realizados internamente em um SIG. É apresentado um teste da metodologia na bacia do rio dos Sinos, no Rio Grande do Sul, região na qual há um comprometimento elevado da disponibilidade hídrica de referência. Os resultados no estudo de caso mostraram que é possível aprimorar a metodologia de análise de outorga ao integrar SIG e modelagem hidrológica. / In order to grant water rights to its user, it is necessary that technicians from the institution in charge verify if there is indeed the capability from the water body to overtake the requested demands (withdrawal or effluent disposal), considering other existing uses and local hydrology. In many cases in Brazil and other countries, the required analyses are still largely made by hand, using paper maps and spreadsheets not integrated to Geographic Information Systems (GIS). This work presents a methodology based on the integration of GIS and hydrological models for analyzing and granting water rights requests. This methodology implies: 1) the use of GIS for data pre-processing and by means of using an hydrological rainfall-runoff model; 2) the application of this rainfall-runoff model to estimate the water discharge availability that can be used as a reference for every reach of the river in which the basin is divided; 3) the transfer of the hydrological model results back to the GIS; and 4) the application of a Decision Support System in which simple calculations of water balance are done entirely in GIS environment. The presented methodology was applied to the case of the Rio dos Sinos basin, in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, a region where water demands exceed availability. Results of this case study showed that it is possible to improve the methodology used to analyze the granting of water rights when GIS and hydrological models are integrated.